Enrollment
398
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 061218001386
Valencia Academy of the Arts — Pico Rivera, CA
Federal NCES profile for Valencia Academy of the Arts, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 14/100.
👥 Class size 5
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: El Rancho Unified · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valencia Academy of the Arts compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Valencia Academy of the Arts reports 398 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 50% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% above the California average and 23% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 398 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 41.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding El Rancho Unified spends $18,630 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.2% from local sources (property taxes), 61.8% from the state, and 14.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Valencia Academy of the Arts compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.8:1 | ▲ 10% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.5% | ▲ 14% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 398 | top 39% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
63.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.8:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 70% in California — lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
41.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,630
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 398 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 398 Top 39% in California — larger than 61% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 23.8:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.5% +14% vs state
NCES ID 061218001386
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 96.2%
Asian 1.5%
White 1.0%
Two or More 0.5%
African American 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 398:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 41.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for El Rancho Unified, which includes Valencia Academy of the Arts.
$18,630
Per student
+3%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.2%
State 61.8%
Federal 14.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,995
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Enrollment
- 544
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 534
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 512
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 473
- Students per teacher
- 25.7:1
Similar elementary schools in Pico Rivera
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Rivera Elementary
Standard public school
473 students 25.7:1 students per teacher
Magee Academy of Arts & Sciences
Standard public school
376 students 26.3:1 students per teacher
Rio Vista Elementary
Standard public school
370 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
South Ranchito Dual Language Academy
Standard public school
351 students 19.4:1 students per teacher
Birney Tech Academy
Standard public school
344 students 20.7:1 students per teacher
Durfee Elementary
Standard public school
322 students 24.6:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Valencia Academy of the Arts
How many students attend Valencia Academy of the Arts?
Valencia Academy of the Arts has 398 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Pico Rivera, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valencia Academy of the Arts?
The student-teacher ratio at Valencia Academy of the Arts is 23.8:1, which is 10% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Valencia Academy of the Arts?
63.5% of students at Valencia Academy of the Arts are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valencia Academy of the Arts?
The largest demographic group at Valencia Academy of the Arts is Hispanic or Latino at 96.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Pico Rivera, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valencia Academy of the Arts?
Valencia Academy of the Arts has a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.